Jürgen Klopp excited for Rhian Brewster to return to the pitch | OneFootball

Jürgen Klopp has laid out the basic plan for teenager Rhian Brewster after a year out with injury.

Liverpool manager spoke about the youngster who endured 13 months away from the pitch due to an ankle problem and made the case that the hardship helped Brewster grow as a person.

The young forward joined the senior squad during warm weather training in Marbella, Spain this past week.

Klopp feels that Brewster’s extended stay on the trainer’s table has kick-started his development into “a proper man” off the pitch at Liverpool.

“When long-injured players start training, very often you see little changes in their movements,” the Reds boss told the club website.

“At the beginning that was the case with him as well. But now it’s good and now the steps will be much quicker, the longest part of the rehab is now over and that changed everything.”

The teenager was expected to make his debut with the first team by this point in his career but Brewster suffered a serious ankle injury in January 2018.

After 13 difficult months, Brewster has returned to training and spent the last week in Marbella before Liverpool face Bayern Munich in Champions League on Tuesday.

Klopp had been initially impressed by the youngster’s work on the field before his injury but was also struck by how Brewster dealt with his setbacks.

“He grew as a person in that time and physically as well; he is a different stature when you look at him. Now he is a proper man. When he got injured, he was a boy. All will be good.”

The German manager also credited the supporting role that team-mate Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain played during the long injury lay-away.

Oxlade-Chamberlain was in the process of recovering from a serious knee injury and struck up a friendship with Brewster during gym sessions.

“Of course, with a long rehab together with Ox, you cannot have a better lead into the team than Ox because he is pretty close with everybody.”

Klopp credited Oxlade-Chamberlain’s jovial manner for helping smooth along Brewster’s recovery.

“That helped him. He is a good friend with Rhian and being a good friend with Ox is a nice thing.”